


Remember when we couldn't take the heat (the monsters turned out to be just trees.)

by saltygay



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Kira is technically a genetic chimera, Multi, Temporary Character Death, so have an au where she ends up being part of the chimera pack
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-15
Updated: 2016-03-16
Packaged: 2018-05-26 19:32:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6252631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saltygay/pseuds/saltygay
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>She keeps it to herself, the flashes of an operating room and the slight pain and the fact she’d actually been sick. She doesn’t want to burden them when they’re looking for more chimeras. And she’s staying away for their safety because she nearly killed Scott. She’s especially not going to mention she’s sure she saw fangs when she looked in the mirror.</i>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I would find the strength to untame my mouth when I used to be afraid of the words

**Author's Note:**

> \-- Title's from 'Out of the wood's' by Taylor Swift
> 
> \-- This is all spawned because technically Kira's a genetic hybrid and I couldn't ignore this AU.

She keeps it to herself, the flashes of an operating room and the slight pain and the fact she’d actually been sick. She doesn’t want to burden them when they’re looking for more chimeras. And she’s staying away for their safety because she nearly killed Scott. She’s especially not going to mention she’s sure she saw fangs when she looked in the mirror.

And eventually she does intend to. She thinks about it with the needles in her skin and her friends in trouble without her to help. She plans on telling them as soon as she can. She never gets that far —she’s not sure why she leaves, why she walks the streets with her mind elsewhere.

She doesn’t think of anything until she has to stop, she’s coughing up something and the coughing turns to being sick and she’s on her knees and there’s a puddle of silver on the ground. Her hands hurt and her fingers are covered in blood and she’s can’t figure out why but she hears something and she’s scared.

She runs, her phones on the side of the road somewhere and she can’t go back for it and she’s sure she hasn’t run this fast before but it has to be the extra adrenaline. Something’s chasing her and she doesn’t know why but she knows she has to get away.

She falls. It might have been a tree root but she can’t tell. She’s not even sure where she is anymore and she scrambles to get up – it’s the dread doctors. It’s them and she doesn’t understand why they’re there for her. Or maybe she does, maybe she just doesn’t want to admit it.

She doesn’t realise ones behind her until it grabs her and she feels a sharp pain in her neck, faintly hears something about her being a failure, and they just leave her in the dirt to die alone. She’s not under any illusion of what this is, she’s dying and it hurts and she’s alone. Maybe Lydia might know but maybe she wouldn’t know it was her who was dying.

Then she does hear someone, hears more than one someone. She can’t open her eyes but she recognises the embrace, recognises who’s got her. She’s glad it’s not Scott; it wouldn’t be fair for him to hold someone else he loves while they die.

She can’t tell who Stiles is talking to but she feels someone trying to move her. She thinks there’s an argument going on but it seems far away, like she’s underwater. An engine roars to life loudly in her ear – when did they get in a car?

She recognises names from Stiles shouting, despite his attempts to be quiet. Theo’s there and so is the sheriff – they’re in the sheriff’s car. The pain starts to fade and even though she wants to say goodbye to her friends, to her family (they’re going to be sad, she thinks, that she’s gone. Her dad will probably cry a lot.) She also wants to let go.

When she finally registers Stiles almost desperate insulting of Iron Man and she thinks she manages a weak laugh, or a cough. It makes her chest hurt so she managed something. It gives her a little fight, enough to struggle to hang on.

Someone else carries her when the car stops and this time she can’t tell who but there’s an overlap of voices shouting, shouting to get her medical attention and then doctors shouting about things she can’t understand.

She recognises Scott’s mum talking, asking if it was something supernatural. Of course they wouldn’t know — she doesn’t either. She does hear a doctor say there’s nothing left for them to do, to who she’s not sure, and that her parents are on their way.  She doesn’t make it that long.

.

Ken has to hold Noshiko to stop her from falling but he can barely stop himself. There’s no heartbeat and nothing anyone can do now. Stiles explain that Lydia had called him about someone dying, she hadn’t known who but she felt it, and he had been the closest.

He’d called his dad on where to meet them and they’d found Kira lying there in the dirt so still they’d thought she was already dead.

.

Scott all but falls through the doors, Malia and Lydia close behind. They hadn’t been told yet, just that they had to get to the hospital. It’s Noshiko and Ken’s presence that tells them all. Melissa’s waiting and doesn’t let him speak before she embraces him.

.

When they’re allowed down there to say goodbye, there’s no body on the table. No Kira and no one knows why.


	2. Holding hands when the walls come tumbling down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She recognizes Theo, stood there as if victorious and looking them all over like they’re all his prizes. He declares he’s their alpha, that they belong to him and her mind says no (Scott’s her alpha, she’s part of Scott’s pack) but at the same time it feels right. It feels like the truth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \-- Chapter title from 'Everybody want's to rule the world' by Lorde

They have to assume that it wasn’t just chimeras being taken but all supernatural creatures instead. The police have to move forward with a murder investigation, it wasn’t a natural death and she hadn’t been sick.  She couldn’t have been.

.

Scott feels like he’s underwater. He would have preferred the Yukimura’s looked at him with anger, blamed him for her being a part of his pack. It must have been a contributing factor, maybe she was killed by a passing hunter.

They don’t blame him. They’re not angry with him, he doesn’t understand why. He’s angry with him, angry that he left her alone when she was having problems. He doesn’t think that she’d insisted on it, what matters is that he wasn’t there when she needed him. He should have been, been there for her and with her.

.

He’s almost glad he couldn’t attack Theo, in hindsight; if he had then he might not have stopped until one of them was dead (preferably Theo.) He’s furious, it only took one offhand remark to make clear Theo was involved in Kira’s death. The wound is raw and fresh and hurts so much more when he thinks about how it was Theo’s fault, he has trusted Theo and Theo hand been there when she died.

It was his fault, he’d been there and Scott hadn’t. It’s not his fault but he still feels angry and the super moon only makes it worse — he knows if it was a normal day he’d still want to kill Theo.

.

It feels like she’s been in the dark forever when she opens her eyes. Everything hurts the second she gasps in much needed air to fill her lungs. They burn and for a minute she forgets she ever stopped. There are others there and when she focuses she begins to recognize faces.

She recognizes Theo, stood there as if victorious and looking them all over like they’re all his prizes. He declares he’s their alpha, that they belong to him and her mind says no (Scott’s her alpha, she’s part of Scott’s pack) but at the same time it feels right. It feels like the truth.

Then she sees Lydia, lying there on the ground just staring blankly ahead. She can hear her heartbeat (she doesn’t wonder about why or how yet) and she runs to her but someone’s grabbed her around the waist before she can reach her.

Theo holds her back and she knows she could break free yet she can’t. When she finally hears what Theo’s saying she stops trying to break free, he is the alpha. They need to follow his lead. Guilt settles in her gut but she can’t help so she leaves with them.

.

Liam stops in the doorway without warning and Mason crashes into him sending them both tumbling to the library floor in a mess of limbs. Then Mason see’s what had made Liam freeze and mirrors his shocked gaping.

Kira was kneeling on the floor, helping pick up fallen books, chatting happily to someone like she’d never died. They’re back in the hallway as soon as they can stand; they glance in to make sure they’re not imagining things. This time she smiles at them and offers a small wave. They jump back out of sight again.

“We need to call Scott” They say in unison.

.

He answers the phone to Mason. He doesn’t get the chance to speak before Mason cut’s him off and all he can understand is ‘get to the school library’ and ‘Kira’. It sounds urgent even if her name wasn’t enough to make him move, they put their plans to reunite the pack on hold.

Stiles has to catch Scott before he can fall when they get to the library. He has to take a deep breath and try to figure out why he hasn’t already run in there too kiss her before he can go in. She looks up with a bright smile, trades a quick goodbye with the student she was talking to and stands. Gestures for them to go outside to talk, for more privacy.

“Kira” he says her name like a prayer and there’s so many thoughts running through his head at once that he can’t focus on a single one. “You’re…you’re here” he finally manages and everyone’s taken a few steps back to give them some semblance of privacy.

“Yeah. I’m here — I came in to help with the library clean up with Corey. It’s a real mess in there; I thought it’d be nice to help out.” She bites her lip and her smile falters like she just can’t keep it up anymore. He thinks he sees Liam look away but he’s too overwhelmed with Kira to be sure — her scents different. He can’t place why but it’s changed and he thinks he doesn’t really want to know why.

“Theo came up with this idea that we should claim we were all kidnapped. There are drugs that can slow down a heartbeat to give the appearance of death. That he found us by accident and whoever was responsible wasn’t there and not everyone survived the drug. It’s worked so far and it convinces the people who don’t know better — I don’t really have to worry about my parents like the others.”

He hadn’t realized he’d clenched his hand into a fist until Stiles coughed pointedly — he’d been digging his claws into his skin without knowing. He hadn’t even known they were out. “…It turns out that Kitsune and human make a genetic chimera. Just not one medically recognized. My fox was rejecting it before, why it was out of control. Like it was trying to kill a virus, I guess” she explained almost nervously.

‘Theo did this. This is Theo’s fault’ he thinks, it’s easier to blame him. He wanted a pack and he wanted to hurt him and it has to be his fault. “Scott?” She says, almost hesitantly, to get his attentions and he finally does what he should have the second he saw her there alive.

He hugs her and doesn’t notice she only gives him a weak attempt of one back. He’s focused on getting across that he doesn’t care she’s a chimera, that he loves her and nothing could change it. “Let’s get the rest of the pack back together” he says with a grin on his lips, the first one in days, and it’s shared by nearly everyone for a minute. Then Kira shrugs his arm off, steps away from them all “I’m not a part of your pack anymore, Scott.”


	3. And you stood tall and now you will fall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _“Like I said, it was Scott or it was everyone. Stiles, Lydia, Malia, Liam — even Mason. Anyone in their way, you’re too smart not to see the logic in that” he says and even though she does, she can’t let it go. She doesn’t care about logic when it meant Scott would be dead._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \-- Title from 'Lullaby' by Sia
> 
> \-- This AU will be the death of me
> 
> \-- This might be the longest chapter I'll do cause I couldn't cut myself off

Everyone looks at her in surprise and she shifts in place nervously for a few seconds before she stops and tenses, standing her ground. “…What?” it’s Stiles who breaks the silence and she relaxes just slightly when it’s clear this is just going to be a talk. He wouldn’t hurt her — how doesn’t she know that?

“I’m a chimera, one of them – Theo’s pack” it sounds more like a sigh than an answer; it sounds like she’s resigned herself to it. “It doesn’t have to be like that — you don’t have to be part of his pack. We…I don’t care if you’re—” she doesn’t let him finish.

She wasn’t resigned to being in Theo’s pack, he realises, and it was because she knew this argument would happen. “It’s not that simple! He brought me back, Scott, he brought us all back. If nothing else, I owe him” she says it like it’s the end all when it’s not. “And he was the reason you died!” he near shouts, he’s never properly shouted at her before and he’s not really now—he’s shouting at the unfairness of it all.

“He didn’t. The dread doctors did it, they chose who they wanted and he’s trying to keep the rest of us alive now” she defends, almost aggressively, the same way she used to defend them.  “Things change. Theo’s my alpha and he’s going to keep us alive” she says more softly “I need to get back to the clean up—you don’t have to worry. We’re not going to go after any of you, we’re just going to try and stay alive. You should probably do the same.”

.

It’s only the fact that Scott called them that keeps Ken from having a heart attack when Kira walks in. They’d gotten calls all morning from people claiming to have seen her and they probably have a few ‘sorry for screaming at you’ calls to make.

They’re already waiting anxiously for her when she gets in and Ken narrowly beats Noshiko in grabbing her in a hug, proceeding to hold out an arm for her to join only a few seconds later. “It’s getting kind of hard to breathe now” Kira says after a few minutes, albeit reluctantly.

One last squeeze before they both let go. A beat. Noshiko grabs her again, more gently but just as desperate to make sure she’s really there. “I swear I came to tell you this morning but no one was here and I still don’t have my phone and no one else had theirs except Theo and he’s been busy trying to find the last chimera—I waited for a while, I swear, but Corey said he was going to the library and I thought I’d go help too” she rambles.

She’s trying to make sure they know she hadn’t forgotten about them but also trying to prove it to herself, that she wasn’t different now. That she was still her. It would be hard to miss their frowns when she mentions Theo’s name and she bites her lip hard to resist saying anything further about it.

Noshiko finally lets her go. “You know we’ve always tried to let you make your own decisions” Ken starts after exchanging a look with Noshiko and she already knows what they’re going to say. “I know Theo’s lied to people and not everything he’s done is good—” She’s aware that no one likes Theo anymore.

“He’s not someone who’s going to keep you alive, Kira. He isn’t the type of person who cares about other people’s safety” Noshiko tells her, trying to be kind and she frowns.  “He’s the one who’s going to save everyone” she argues, almost frustrated with having to defend her choices.

“It wasn’t long ago you were saying that about Scott” Ken points out and she has to look down for a minute “Scott doesn’t know what’s coming. Theo does and he’ll do what has to be done to stop it” She finally says, voice firm and unwavering.

There’s a knock on the door putting a halt to any further arguing. Kira answers it despite Noshiko’s warning look and Theo steps in with a smile that would pass as charming and friendly if they didn’t know better “Mr and Mrs Yukimura, we haven’t met, I’m Theo. Kira said it’d be okay for me to drop by if we needed her.”

Both of them tense “Can we talk with our daughter in private” She’s not really asking. “I’ll be out in a minute” Kira tells with a small smile and he nods “see you outside then.”

“He’s not a good person Kira, you need to stay away from him before he gets you hurt” Noshiko says with Ken standing behind her in support. “He’s going to keep us alive. There are no more good guys or bad guys now, it’s not that simple. You’re just gonna be dead or alive and that’s it. We need to stop what’s coming and Theo can.”

Noshiko grabs her wrist before she can leave, making her stop and turn to look at them “and that involves killing Scott for power?” There’s a moment where it looks like she’s not going to go, eyes widened and lips parted as if to say something, a small confused crease between her eyes.

Then it’s gone and she pulls her wrist free, jaw set and lips a firm line. £I’m part of Theo’s pack. He’s my alpha. He must have had a reason for it.”

.

They’re barely out of the earshot when she stops. “Why did you try to kill Scott?” he doesn’t look surprised when he turns to look at her but then, it was only a matter of time before she found out. “I did what I had to do. It was him or everyone; they wanted the ‘obstacle’ out of the way. If I could take charge of the pack then no one else would have had to die.”

She sees the reason behind it, she does, but she cares too much about Scott to let it go at that “and it wasn’t for power?” She questions sceptically, eyes narrowed in what’s not quite a glare yet.

“Like I said, it was Scott or it was everyone. Stiles, Lydia, Malia, Liam — even Mason. Anyone in their way, you’re too smart not to see the logic in that” he says and even though she does, she can’t let it go. She doesn’t care about logic when it meant Scott would be dead.

He must see it in her face because he pushes her into the nearest wall, boxes her in with one hand pushing her shoulder into the brick. The fact she has to look up to glare at him doesn’t make him take it any less seriously. He can feel her anger; it comes off her so strong it’s almost palpable.

He growls lowly, eyes flashing and hers do too in response, a bright yellow more alike to a beta’s than a Kitsune. Her own growl is quiet and almost unnoticeable, still something so unfamiliar to her that it almost startles her.

“You’re one of my pack now Kira. You do as I say. You can still care about them but remember who’s going to keep everyone alive at the end of the day” it’s not quite a threat but not quite a reminder either.

“You left Lydia—” she counters “ _you_ left Lydia” he cuts her off sharply “you walked away just like the rest of us. I wonder how Scott’s pack will react to that. I wonder how everyone will react when they find out that you left her there to die too?” he questions and she sops growling, almost shrinks in on herself as her face falls.

“Stop clinging to who you used to be, Kira, you’ve already changed” she’s not sure she could respond if she tried and it’s clear that he’s won.

.

He doesn’t expect Kira to be sat at the edge of his bed when he gets back. The house is dark, his mum at the hospital and she’s just perched at the edge of his bed waiting in the dark.

“Hey—sorry. I didn’t know when you were getting back and I didn’t realise how dark it was, I guess I kind of went off in my own little world there. I wasn’t trying to be creepy or weird or anything—I just thought we needed to talk in private. It wasn’t really…we didn’t really get a real chance to talk at the library. I’ll go if you want me to, I’m sorry. This was a stupid idea, I should have called instead.”

He can’t help but smile because it’s so familiar and cute and it’s so Kira. He’s always loved it, loved her for it, how she rambled and she knows it and even though she gets embarrassed she’s never tried to change.

“No, it’s okay. You can stay, if you want” he reassures, dropping his stuff to the side but doesn’t try and move closer this time. She looks at him like she’s conflicted, like it hurts and like she wants to kiss him.

“Did you really die?” she asks quietly and he hesitantly nods “I don’t agree with what he did—I don’t like it and I’m not happy with him about it and I’d never agree with him about it. You know that, right?” There’s a desperate edge to it and he frowns “I never thought you did” She visibly relaxes in a way she hadn’t been before and for a second he thinks she was about to say something else but it passes.

She closes the distance instead, hugs him gently with her face buried in his shoulder. “I should go. I think Theo wanted the pack to meet or something, I should check. And I need to find my phone” she murmurs but he can’t let go yet.

“It doesn’t have to be like this. You can come back—even if you don’t want to, we don’t have to change” now he’s the one who sounds desperate because he knows what this actually is.

“But I have. I don’t feel like me, and I’ve been trying to convince myself that it’s my imagination all day. I’ve been trying to be the old, normal, me all day but I’m not. Everything’s changed now, I’ve…you have to feel it too. Around you, around the—your pack, I feel almost normal but at the same time I don’t, I feel different. It’s like both at once and...” her voice falters.

His own shakes when he whispers a quiet “please” but she finds her voice again “I don’t think I can do this, that we can do this. At least, not right now. I was dead, Scott, I was dead and I need time to-to process that on my own. And you did too, you need that time too. I need time for myself, at least for a while.”

He lets her go reluctantly and she rests a hand on his cheek, there’s tears shining on her own and her shoulders might be shaking with choked back sobs. She leans up on her toes, whispers a quiet “I’m sorry” and her voice is barely there before she kisses his cheek. It’s a goodbye without actually saying the words and she’s gone like she’d never even been there.

.

She makes it around the corner before she can’t hold back the sobs any longer, has to stop. She’s not sure if she’s crying for herself, for their relationship or from the anger that she was too scared to tell him what she’d done.

“You couldn’t tell him” She wipes her eyes with her sleeve before she looks back at Theo, trying to regain some of her dignity, and she probably should have guessed he’d know where she would go and why. “You already know how he’ll react—and if not him, the rest of them” She’s not actually sure why she couldn’t. Maybe it was the fear of watching him stop loving her.

“We’re over, okay. I ended it” she snaps and there’s a small curve to his lips at her not even attempting to hide her anger and frustration anymore. “I didn’t want that Kira. It’s not my goal to hurt either of you. Come on, we need to start trying to figure out who the beast is.”


End file.
